This handbook, written for teachers, art teachers, and parents of young children, describes actual elementary school classroom experiences. Each anecdote is juxtaposed with a simple explanation of its philosophical and psychological rationale. Symbolic representation of the environment through art making is seen as a natural language, a…

Noting that parenting a toddler can be both exhilarating and frustrating, this book draws on lifelong research into children's emotional development to provide parents with a better understanding of toddlers' emotional range and how it affects toddler behavior. The 10 chapters and the conclusion cover the following areas: (1) the emotional…

Based on intense observations of one child's development from 1 to 3 years of age, this book describes how children acquire the knowledge they need to become persons. The book has 13 chapters, divided chronologically. Topics covered include: (1) personhood and social identity, and methodological issues; (2) 15-16 months, doing a lot with a little,…

This report examines child poverty in the United States, discusses its cause and persistence, and makes recommendations for solutions. Areas examined involve the historical roots of social-welfare policy in the United States; the facts behind the mythologies and misperceptions concerning child and family poverty; the children and families to be…

Every child deserves to believe that she or he is truly a wonder. Together with the children's book, the Leader's Guide provides a complete course on self-esteem for young children. The Guide endorses three core beliefs: (1) All children are inherently valuable without regard to gender, race, religion, family background, economic status,…

New findings about child nutrition and cognitive development indicate that undernourished children are typically fatigued and uninterested in their social environments. Such children are less likely to establish relationships or to explore and learn from their surroundings. Undernourished children are also more susceptible to illness and, thus,…

Despite the strong association between women educators and young children, a chasm exists between "education feminism" and early childhood education. This paper explores why this chasm exists, and offers ways in which the two fields can be brought together. The relationship of feminism and early childhood education is explored, using…

How quickly can new staff members who come with minimal qualifcations in early childhood education be trained? Is there a way to develop a sense of history and community in child care programs, honoring diversity while documenting the learning process and engagement individuals have with each other? In an age of fast-paced electronic media and…

In 1986, the Ounce of Prevention Fund undertook an ambitious project: creating and operating a family support program for young families with infants and toddlers in the Robert Taylor Homes public housing development in Chicago. The program was the outreach function of the Center for Successful Child Development (CSCD). The CSCD, a comprehensive,…

This report introduces the concept of syncretic literacy by examining an exchange in which a 6-year-old Samoan-American boy, in his urban Los Angeles (California) home, involves members of his extended family to complete homework. The study illustrates how English is sometimes used in ways that are consistent with the socialization practices…

A discussion of the biological and developmental issues in early second language learning first looks at psycholinguistic research on brain growth patterns and the relationship of first and second language learning. Focus is on three phenomena observed in the self-organization of living systems: selection of input data; organization of specialized…

The purpose of this study was to describe the content and structure of the thinking of four experienced, but "ordinary," preschool teachers in the area of children's emotions and emotional development. Each study participant had taught in the New Garone Pre-Kindergarten, one of the first New York State Experimental Pre-Kindergartens, for…

Early childhood education faces theoretical dilemmas as it reexamines the role of culture in the development of children and struggles to define what "developmentally appropriate" means and for whom. Teachers and other caregivers are working to integrate an anti-bias, multicultural approach into the overall curriculum and everyday…

This report provides program funders and providers with an overview of what children and adolescents need to be successful and grow up healthy, and it examines the role of youth programs in healthy development. It presents a review of effective programming, the relevant literature on youth outcomes, and ideas and suggestions for evaluating…

Exploring whether deductive reasoning can develop adequately without special instruction, this paper presents two studies that examine the development of meta-components of deductive reasoning, first in algebra, and second in verbal reasoning. The first study examined students' understanding of logical necessity in algebraic tasks in different…